


Dancing Queen (DJ Got Us Fallin' In Love)

by frequencyshift



Category: Pitch Perfect (2012)
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, F/F, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-07-19
Updated: 2013-08-31
Packaged: 2017-12-20 16:19:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,166
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/889319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/frequencyshift/pseuds/frequencyshift
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Chloe didn't go to Barden University with the Bellas in mind. There's a story there.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Freshman Year

_Freshman Year_  
  
Chloe walked through the activities fair, hugging herself with glee. She'd finally made it to college, finally made it to the bigger world, and so far it was everything she expected. Her bags were currently sitting in a tiny dorm room, unpacked, while she wandered around looking at everything that was offered for her entertainment. It was almost surreal. She looked at almost every booth, even if just for a moment, but there was only one she was interested in. One group she'd researched before even picking Barden University as her college of choice.  
  
She finally spotted the booth, and practically skipped over.  
  
"Hi," a tall, lean boy said from behind the table. "You interested in the Barden Dance Squad?"  
  
"Yes!" Chloe squeaked out, her ears turning slightly red. "Very much so. I love to dance!"  
  
The girl handing out fliers turned and grinned at her. "Well, that's important. Question is, can you?"  
  
The ginger nodded. "Oh yes. I was part of my high school's dance team, although we were too small to compete. I also do choreography." She pulled out her phone, quickly finding the videos she had stored. She hit play on her favorite, before handing it over.  
  
The boy and girl humored her, taking the phone and watching the video. "Not bad," the girl admitted. "You guys managed to work with what you had pretty well." She held out her hand. "I'm Meredith. You should definitely sign up for auditions."  
  
"Joel," the boy said, shaking her hand as well. "I'm co-captain this year. We've got several openings. Auditions are in three weeks, so that gives you time to put together a 30 second routine." He glared at Meredith. "You gonna give her a flier with the info, or just hold onto it?"  
  
Meredith blushed before handing over the phone and a flier. "Sorry," she said with a grin. "See you there?"  
  
Chloe beamed at the two of them. "Definitely."  
  
\---  
  
"Alright, boys and girls, welcome to your first rehearsal," Joel called as the new recruits filed into the gymnasium, eyes wide and eager. "You all rocked your auditions, myself and Jennifer are pretty excited to have such a great crew."  
  
A petite girl stepped up, smiling at them all. Somehow, it didn't seem to reach her eyes. "Joel is the good cop, noobs, so don't expect to hear me say the same thing. You didn't blow chunks on your auditions, which is why you're here, but that doesn't mean we can trust you to work as part of our group. Barden's Dance Squad is the best in the tri-state area, and this is the year we prove it, and if any of you fuck it up for us I will personally scatter your remains all over campus."  
  
The new recruits all blanched slightly, but the excitement was still largely undampened.  
  
"Joel and I do the choreography for most of our routines, because we've earned the right to that shit. If you have something you wanna suggest, be damn sure it will rock our fucking socks off, or keep your mouth shut. Also, don't suggest anything, because you've still got your momma's spit on your cheeks and I don't want to hear anything out of you until the wonderful facilities here at Barden University have succeeded in washing it off. So I expect to hear not a peep out of any of you until after New Years, at the _earliest_."  
  
Chloe was still smiling, even though everyone else's grins were starting to falter. She expected it to be tough, but the tiny girl casually swearing at them all was definitely a bit of a surprise. Still, she knew if she worked hard it would pay off. She glanced to the side, where all of the returning members were hanging out and watching the newbies. She spotted Meredith, and smiled when the older girl gave a small wave in greeting.  
  
Jennifer clapped her hands together. "Alright, first day. Joel, you wanna break the bad news, or shall I?"  
  
Joel grinned. "First day is beatdown, guys. We gotta make sure you can all keep up, so today we're gonna be doing running, push-ups, sit-ups, jumping jacks, and everything else we can think of to make you do for the next three hours. After this, twice a week our sessions will consist of an hour of exercise, but keep in mind that you really need to keep up with yourself. If we feel you're slacking, we'll toss you out."  
  
The freshman all groaned as the rest starting jeering at them. "Run, frosh, run!" one catcalled, and slowly they all staggered forward, sluggishly running around the gym.  
  
Chloe lengthened her stride, regulating her breathing. As far as initiation rites go, a group work out was pretty tame, but pretty practical. She couldn't wait to start actually dancing.  
  
\---  
  
Meredith came up to her after practice. She grinned down at the girl lying on the ground, panting. "Not quite what you expected, was it?"  
  
It took the younger girl a few tries to actually speak. "No.. it was... okay. Bit more... than I'm used to..." She grimaced at the panting she couldn't reign in. "Wanna dance..."  
  
The older girl laughed, flipping her brown hair over one shoulder. "Well, obvi. Why else would you be here?" She reached down, hauling the ginger up. "C'mon, lets go get you some water."  
  
They walked out of the gym, stopping for Meredith to grab her backpack. She reached in, pulling out a bottle of water and tossing it to Chloe.  
  
"Thanks," Chloe said gratefully, quickly opening it and downing over half of it in several long gulps. "Was it like that for you too?"  
  
Meredith shook her head. "No, we had to do a ruck. Do you know what that is?"  
  
"No," Chloe replied bashfully.  
  
"Our previous captain, Eric, spent two years in ROTC before deciding against going to the army. But he brought a lot of it to us, including the workout regimens. Our initiation consisted of us having to carry like 80 pound bags for four hours as we jogged around campus, occasionally having to stop to do push-ups and the like."  
  
Chloe gaped at her.  
  
"It was pretty brutal," Meredith said with a laugh. "We actually lost three new members halfway through, but Eric was all like, 'if they can't hack it I don't want them', so we just kept going. I didn't find out until later that he was being super easy on us, giving us plenty of breaks and stuff so we wouldn't keel over or anything. He rucked with over 100 pounds."  
  
"So why didn't we have to do that?" Chloe asked. The two girls were walking through campus, heading back towards the dorms.  
  
"We got lazy when Eric graduated," Meredith admitted. "Nobody wants to carry that much weight around. Joel and Jennifer decided to just settle for pushing you guys in the gym. Less for the rest of us to do." She rolled her eyes at herself, but grinned. "I mean, if you wanna do it, I'll run beside you, but I'm never putting that much weight on myself again. I couldn't stand up straight for, like, three days."  
  
Chloe held up her hands is surrender, laughing. "No, no no. I'm good." They reached the beginning of the dorms. "I'm in Baker Hall."  
  
"Harrison. I can't wait until next year - my parents said they'd help me move out in town for junior year." She ran a hand through her hair. "Hey, gimme your number. Me and some of the other girls are thinking of hitting the club scene later. I'll send you the info if you wanna come."  
  
Chloe obediently punched her cell number into Meredith's phone. The two girls waved at each other as they went their separate way.  
  
\---  
  
The music was so loud in the club when she walked in that Meredith's sentence was cut off. The older girl shrugged, grinning, before waving the group over to a table in the corner. Chloe followed, looking around eagerly.  
  
The group of seven crowded around the tiny table, all trying to be heard over the heavy bass. Chloe had showed up at Meredith's dorm to find three other freshmen from the squad, Joel, and a junior who was introduced as Joel's girlfriend Heather. There'd barely been time for introductions - the freshman were David, Joaqim, and Mercedes - before they were heading out, crowding the sidewalk as they cut through campus to one of the nearby clubs.  
  
"Frosh on the floor," Joel managed to shout, his hands flapping at them to go. "Let's see what you can do!"  
  
Chloe grinned, grabbing Mercedes' hand and pulling the other girl out onto the dance floor. Mercedes was tall, and her legs seemed to go on forever in the tight black jeans she wore, but the smile on her face was what had Chloe laughing as they immediately started dancing together. The boys followed suit, and soon she had Joaqim's tentative hands on her hips. The bass rolled through the club like thunder, and they lost themselves in the music.  
  
She had no idea how long they were out there, but at one point she saw Joel and Meredith pulling some pretty awesome moves. She stopped moving, jaw dropped as they created a space that no one else intruded on. David shouted something in her ear, and she turned to shrug helplessly at him. He laughed, or moved as if he were laughing, and then they were dancing again.  
  
A tap on the shoulder pulled Chloe out of the music, and she turned to see Meredith motioning her back towards the table. She reached out, grabbing the other girl's hand, smiling brightly. Meredith blinked at that, but her lips quirked and she allowed Chloe to drag her back.  
  
"Not bad, newbies," Joel shouted to them once the group had been collected. "You four all pass part two of initiation. On to phase three!"  
  
Chloe squeaked as Heather grabbed her hand, and the freshman found themselves yanked out of the club. They stumbled as they went, laughing and smiling.  
  
"What's phase three?" Joaqim shouted, blushing when he realized there was no need now that they were away from the music. "I mean," he said in a mostly-normal tone. "What's going on?"  
  
"Phase two, frosh," Meredith said gleefully, "was dancing. Those who declined a senior member's invitation out to dance are automatically placed on backup for the semester. Any who don't get on the floor are also backup. Any who show a lack of skill on the dance floor - improv dancing at its finest, if in a pretty basic format - are backup, and strongly suggested to reconsider membership. Fortunately for you guys, you all passed."  
  
Chloe laughed happily, hugging the others. "Awesome!"  
  
A van pulled up at that moment, and the window rolled down to reveal Jennifer. "All of them?" she asked Joel, and he grinned as he nodded. "Well, get in then. You're the last group. We only lost one."  
  
They quickly piled in, tripping over each other in their eagerness. Chloe somehow managed to end up in the boys' lap. Joel and Heather climbed in up front, his arms wrapped around her like a makeshift seatbelt.  
  
Ten minutes later, they arrived in front of a warehouse. The rest squad was there, all laughing and talking excitedly.  
  
Heather jumped out of the van and walked forward, pulling a key out of her pocket.  
  
"Shut the _fuck_ up!"  
  
Everyone quickly quieted down as Jennifer's voice rang out. She gestured to Heather, who smiled at the petite girl.  
  
"Hey everyone, I'm Heather," she said with a wave. "I'm Joel's girlfriend, so everyone hands off. This is my place of business, so if you mess anything up I'm going to be in a lot of trouble, which Joel will then proceed to let Jennifer take out on you." She unlocked the door, pushing it open. "Welcome to Parker's Parkour, the largest course in the state."  
  
"Phase three, frosh, is to run the course as best as you can," Joel shouted as he started to usher everyone inside. "We're not cheerleaders, boys and girls, we gotta be able to move! However, don't worry if something looks too hard, just give it a shot and move on. Don't hurt yourselves!"  
  
"Fuck that noise. I want you to do this fucking course, and I want you to rock it, because we're gonna be the best fucking dance squad in the south whether you like it or not, noobs!" Jennifer yelled. " _Move_!"  
  
\---  
  
The buzzing of her phone woke Chloe up, and she groaned as she reached towards her nightstand. She almost wasn't able to reach, a whimper leaking out of her throat before she managed to grab it and bring it to her ear. "... 'lo?"  
  
" _You sound miserable, Chloe,_ " Meredith said cheerily. " _Can you move?_ "  
  
"I'd rather have carried an 80 pound bag around campus," Chloe groaned, but a smile crept onto her face anyway.  
  
Meredith snickered. " _The others aren't doing much better, if that helps at all. Joel is heading over to David's to help him shower, I think._ "  
  
Chloe laughed, then groaned. "Don't make me laugh, it hurts. Gosh, everything hurts. How was this better than doing a... what's it called, a ruck?"  
  
" _You did say you wanted to dance._ "  
  
"If I had the energy, and you were here, I'd throw a pillow at you."


	2. Chapter 2

_Second Semester_

"Seriously, guys, you _suck_ ," Jennifer griped, as the group staggered to a standstill. "Gordon, your arms are flailing all over the place. Haele, for the love of god _stop_ trying to hump Tony every time you dance by him. Chloe, can you maybe take five seconds to _stop fucking smiling_ so big? It's fucking creepy."

Chloe winced, her smile falling. She felt a hand on her shoulder, and turned to see Meredith shooting her a sympathetic look. Her smile came back, although smaller.

"As for the rest of you, if you don't get in fucking step already, we are going to lose at regionals this year, and I will then have to come up with a way to dispose of all of your bodies."

Joel hurried over to his co-captain's side, already murmuring soothing words before even getting within hearing. Jennifer listened for a moment, then sighed gustily. "Alright, we're done for the day. Rehearsal's already gone on for an extra hour. But seriously, guys, this shit is no joke. Listen to a metronome or something, find that beat, and stop fucking losing it!" She waved them away, turning to talk to Joel some more.

"Oh thank god," Meredith exclaimed, shoulders sagging. "I thought she'd keep us here all night." She raised an eyebrow at Chloe. "You alright? I know Jenn has been hard on you lately."

Chloe grinned, shrugging her shoulders. "I think I kind of piss her off."

Meredith hummed, her gaze contemplative. "Could it be because you waited all of one rehearsal into the semester to make choreography suggestions?"

"But I waited!" Chloe replied, honestly confused. "She said to wait until we'd been here a semester, and I did! I just think that what we have now doesn't quite work with how many short people we have this year. There's some long distances to be covered in her routines, I just thought-"

"That's the thing you apparently haven't learned about Jennifer, kiddo," Meredith said with a grin, draping one arm over Chloe's shoulder. "She doesn't want you to do that pesky thinking thing. She says she does, but really she just wants to work with Joel on the routines and have everyone do what she says."

"They're really good together," Chloe agreed, turning to look at the two captains talking at the other side of the gymnasium. "And they come up with some awesome choreography. I just..."

"You want to do it too. Unlike most of us, you seem to have a grasp on how to make a large group work together, instead of just loving dance."

"I love dancing," Chloe said. "I just... it's like math."

Meredith blinked. "What?"

"It is!" Chloe exclaimed excitedly. She pushed her hair away from her face, tucking the strands behind her ears. "I mean, it's all about angles and spatial recognition and volume occupancy, vectors and trajectories and rate of speed. If you don't take it all into account, and compensate for things like shorter legs versus longer distances versus peoples' capabilities, it's not going to look smooth."

"Oh my god, you're such a nerd," Meredith said with a laugh. "What's your major? I always figured you for English Lit or something."

"Physics," Chloe replied with a sheepish grin. "Although I'm taking almost all of my electives in the English department, so you're not too far off."

"Holy shit," Meredith exclaimed. "You mean there's more to Chloe Beale than that head of hair and her thousand-watt smile? What the hell are you gonna do with a physics degree?"

Chloe shrugged. "I haven't decided. Either astrophysicist or medical physicist. I'm leaning to the latter, though, because I like the idea of helping people."

They chatted about it as they headed back towards the dorms. They had almost arrived when Chloe looked around. "Oh hey, I think that's my lit professor. I have to ask him a question about a paper due next week. Catch up with you later?"

"Sure," Meredith said with a wave as Chloe dashed off.

Dr. Mitchell was standing in the quad, having a quiet but intense talk with a girl who looked far too young for college. Then again, there was a ten year old in her _Multivariable and Vector Analysis_ course, so who was she to judge.

"-and that's the last of it. Come on, Bec, this is supposed to be a fun week for just the two of us."

Chloe came to an abrupt stop. Whatever was going on, it wasn't at all what she had thought, and she knew she really shouldn't be here.

"Hey dad, I think one of your students wants to talk to you," the young girl said, her eyes bored as she quickly diverted his attention to Chloe.

"Ms. Beale," Dr. Mitchell greated, diversion effective. Chloe glanced at the girl, who smirked at her. "What can I do for you?"

"I don't want to interrupt, it can wait if you're busy," the redhead said with an apologetic smile.

Dr. Mitchell glanced at the girl, who gave him a bored look. He sighed. "No, it's no problem. Ms. Beale, this is my daughter Beca. She's a sophomore, but I brought her out here to sell Barden to her early."

"Because my chances of getting the grades to attend are super awesome if you pull me out of class at the beginning of semester for a week, Dad," the girl snarked, rolling her eyes. "Hey."

Chloe held out her hand, smile growing on her face. "Chloe," she said happily. "Ms. Beale is so old-sounding."

Beca raised an eyebrow, before gingerly taking her hand. "Right, that's not weird," she said quietly. "Dad, I'm gonna go sit over there until you're ready to take me home. I have a book report due when I get back." Without waiting for a response, the girl spun on her heel and walked away, putting her headphones on.

"I really can talk to you some other time, Dr. Mitchell," Chloe said quietly, the smile on her face more empathetic at the exhaustion he let show on his face.

After a moment, he ran a hand over his hair and sighed. "No, it's fine. I'll give her a few minutes to feel like she's won before going over there." He turned and gave Chloe a tired smile. "So what can I do for you?"

\---

Joaqim hugged her, awkwardly, with one arm. Chloe gave him a watery smile, but made no other response. She looked down at the floor of the gym, trying her best not to start hiccuping.

Jennifer stood on the other side of the gym, hissing quietly at Joel and waving her arms about. The others milled about, some giving Chloe sympathetic looks, while others only shook their heads and looked away.

Meredith had collapsed on the ground, water bottle dangling from one hand while the other casually grasped Chloe's ankle in support.

"Joel, I don't fucking _care_. She's not a team player, she does her own fucking thing, and I've fucking had it," Jennifer's voice rose heatedly. Joel hissed at her to quiet down, and they kept arguing.

"I'm sorry," Chloe said softly, wringing her hands together. She didn't say it for anyone, and yet she said for everyone. "I'm really sorry."

"Whatever," Mercedes said. "Jennifer's a bitch, and if she won't listen to what you have to say then what's the point of being here? We're not robots."

"But Jennifer and Joel are really good, and they know what they're doing," Rachel, a junior, piped up. "They don't need some green frosh telling them how to create a routine. And she," the girl added, pointing at Chloe, "hasn't earned the right. I mean, how many of us got to do anything their first year?"

The other senior members made gestures of agreement.

"Look, Chlo'," David said, inching forward. "I don't understand why you can't just keep quiet. It's like you think you're better than us, or something."

Chloe gasped. "Of course not, David!" she exclaimed, brow furrowing. "I would never!"

"Alright, enough," Joel said, interjecting into the conversation as he and Jennifer walked over. "Chloe, can you step outside with us?"

Chloe looked down and nodded.

Meredith caught her eye, mouthing _do you want me to come_?

That made her smile, but she shook her head, and after Meredith let go of her ankle she followed the co-captains out of the gym.

Jennifer was leaning against the wall, refusing to look at her. Joel gave her a smile, and impulsively pulled her into a hug. She hadn't realize how much she'd needed it until it happened, and Chloe felt some of the tension in her shoulders disappear

"Look," he said when he had stepped back. "I think you're a great dancer, and Jennifer knows she can't actually disagree with me."

Jennifer scoffed, but didn't add anything.

"Thing is, she's got a bit of a point, Chloe. You have a tendency to want to do your own thing, and that really hurts the cohesion we're really looking for in the group."

"You also can't stop with the fucking smiling, and the touching, and it's creepy as hell. Also, the smile ruins some of the feeling we're going for with the routines. No matter how many times I bring it up, you still keep smiling like you have an IQ in the single digits," Jennifer added.

Tears were streaming out of Chloe now, and she could feel her shoulders start to shake. "A-are you kicking me out?"

Joel looked like he had just been punched in the stomach. "No," he said quickly. "No, we're not. We'd never, you're too good."

"You're going to understudy," Jennifer said, turning to look at Chloe for the first time. "You're good enough to do any of these dances, if you'd just stick with the choreography, so consider that a big fucking honor. I just don't trust you. In the meantime, you're on backup."

The worst part was Chloe could tell Jennifer didn't hate her. It was in her eyes, how unhappy she was with the entire situation, and Jennifer wouldn't give out compliments if she didn't mean them.

Something was just wrong with Chloe.

\---

They lost regionals. Chloe knew everyone was still in shock, as they rode the bus back to campus. They'd given it their all, every last one of them. The Barden Dance Squad had rocked the stage, hit every step of Jennifer and Joel's choreography, but it hadn't been enough.

Jennifer sat in the front of the bus, staring out of the window, face pensive. Joel sat with Meredith at the very back, their heads together as they quietly talked about nothing to do with dance. There were some sobs, mostly from the senior girls, but the bus was mostly silent.

Upon arriving at campus, Jennifer stood up at the front of the bus. "Listen up, fuckers. We rocked that stage, I know we did. You all were awesome, and I'm fucking proud of you. If the judges wanna keep their eyes closed and just vote the way they always do, that's not our problem. So stop crying, put your big boy pants on, come over to my house and help me fuck up any chances of getting my security deposit back."

The ragged cheer that rose was still enough to put a smile on everyone's face.

Three hours later, Chloe stumbled into the backyard of the house Jennifer rented. There'd been two kegs waiting for them upon arrival, and the collection of hard alcohol was impressive. Not a single one of them was sober, and everyone was laughing and crying and dancing and it was so hot inside that Chloe just needed to get out to breathe.

"Hey," a voice said, startling the ginger. She turned to see Jennifer step outside. "You alright? Gonna puke?"

Chloe shook her head, smiling. "I'm good. Just hot in there."

Jennifer rolled her eyes as she came to stand next to the other girl. "I swear, I kind of want to rip that smile off your face every time I see it. What the fuck is so awesome about your life that you can smile like that like, _all the time_?"

Normally Chloe's smile would've fallen, but she had a fair amount of beer and whiskey in her system. "Everything! I'm in college, I'm at Barden, I have friends and dance and science. What's not to smile about?"

The petite girl next to her started laughing, and Chloe couldn't help but laugh with her. "I swear, you're such a weirdo," Jennifer said. "I'm sorry I pulled you from the main sets. That was a dick move, and it probably sank us, because you are definitely one of the better dancers, even if your weirdo smile would've been a total distraction."

Chloe shook her head, grabbing Jennifer's arm. "No, no way. Those judges were just stupid. You and Joel worked really hard for a kick-ass routine, and it was totally kick-ass, and they were stupid. Because your routine was kick-ass!"

"Oh my god, you're so drunk right now."

Chloe just beamed.

Jennifer started to respond, but stopped, her brow furrowing as she looked at something over Chloe's shoulder. Chloe followed her gaze.

Joel and Meredith were standing in the kitchen, making out quite visibly through the window.

"Isn't Heather here?" Chloe asked quietly. Jennifer nodded. "Should we do something?"

Jennifer shook her head. "You're such a weirdo, Chloe Beale. I mean, I like it, but seriously."

Chloe squealed and hugged the other girl. "I like you too!" she gushed. "I think if you gave it a chance, we could be really awesome friends, because you're awesome."

"Drunk weirdo. Save me." Jennifer shook herself free. "C'mon, lets go. You keep Heather from killing Joel and Meredith, while I go kill Joel and Meredith."

Chloe's smile faltered as her eyes focused on the two making out. "Right," she said, following Jennifer back into the house.


	3. Sophomore Year

_Sophomore Year_

Chloe and Meredith were manning the activity fair booth, standing as far away from each other as possible. To be more accurate, Meredith was standing as far away from Chloe as she could: back turned to the younger girl, ranging further and further away in order to press fliers into people's hands. The ginger simply stood behind the table, smiling brightly at anyone and everyone.

The new co-captains walked up. Captains were picked by vote, apparently, and when Jennifer had tacitly endorsed both Rachel and Jerome, the two had been almost unanimously voted in. Rachel handed Chloe a bottle of water, then tossed the other to Meredith when the older girl looked her way. "How's it going?" Rachel asked, looking between the two of them.

"Great!" Chloe beamed, gesturing to the pile of paper in front of her. "We've already burned through half our stack. Meredith has been really proactive in handing them out, we might run out before the fair ends."

Meredith didn't acknowledge Chloe's words, simply turning back to the crowd streaming past and continuing to hand out fliers.

"That's good," Jerome said listlessly. He was an incredible dancer, but unless he was on stage he walked through life half asleep.

"I knew putting those two out here would be a smart idea," Rachel said with a smirk to him. "Chloe gets the ones who like her smile, and Meredith gets in the face of everyone else."

Jerome just raised an eyebrow at her. "Right," he drawled. "Only 'cause she doesn't want to be here with-"

Rachel elbowed him.

"Sorry, Chloe," he said with a half shrug.

Chloe's smile faltered a bit as she looked at Meredith, who once again had ranged deep into the current of bodies going by. Last year had ended badly between the two of them.

_"Bitch!" Heather screams, trying to get around Chloe and into the kitchen. Meredith flinches behind Joel. "I can't believe you. You're my friend!"_

_"Yeah, well, see how that turned out," Jennifer says bitingly, her presence filling up the kitchen beyond her small stature. "Heather, believe me, I want to kill them too. But now is sooo not the time." The girl glares at her co-captain. Joel shrinks in on himself._

_"Baby," Joel says hesitantly, stepping forward. He stops as Jennifer puts her hand on his chest. "Baby, please, it didn't mean anything. It just happened!"_

_Meredith makes a small, strangled noise._

_"Right, she's only wanted to sleep with you since she joined the squad," Heather bites out through her tears. "Fucking slut. And I don't just mean her,_ Joel _."_

_"Heather," Chloe says, a bit desperately. "Please, calm down. You don't want to have this conversation right now."_

_"Weirdo's right, Heather," Jennifer says firmly. "Why don't you go home? Joel will find somewhere else to crash."_

_Heather stares at her boyfriend and the girl she had considered her friend. Suddenly, she bursts into tears._

_"Rachel," Jennifer calls, and the junior made her way forward. "Take Heather home."_

_Rachel nods, putting her arm around the sobbing girl and leading her away._

_"You," Jennifer hisses, turning back to Joel. The hand she has on his chest shoves, and he stumbles backwards. "You and I are gonna have a little_ chat _." She grabs his arm and drags him outside._

_That leaves just Chloe and Meredith. The older girl seems smaller, withdrawn, and tears are streaming down her face. "Thanks for keeping her back," Meredith finally says._

_"I don't understand," Chloe replies. Her chest feels tight, and hot, and for once her smile is nowhere to be found. "I don't understand why you would do that."_

_Meredith gives a humorless chuckle. "I've liked Joel for almost two years, Chlo'. And he's leaving to go to New York right after graduation. I didn't think I'd ever see him again." She looks up, her watery eyes meeting Chloe's. "I didn't think he'd kiss me back."_

_"But how could you be so mean?" Chloe asks plaintively. "Heather is your friend. You don't do that to friends!"_

_The older girl reaches out, grabbing at Chloe's hand. Chloe jerks back. "Chloe, I had to. Can't you see that? It was eating me up inside!"_

_"So if it had been my boyfriend, you would've done the same thing?"_

_Meredith shakes her head, but can't say anything._

_"You're a_ bitch _, Mer," Chloe says, and she starts to cry. "You're a complete bitch, and I can't believe you'd do that to someone you call a friend. Do you even know the meaning of the word?"_

_"Chloe-"_

_Chloe doesn't wait to hear what Meredith has to say. She whirls around and runs out of the house, ignoring all her squadmates who had stood by and simply watched the show._

"It's fine," Chloe said, unable to make her smile reach her eyes. "We'll be fine."

\---

Chloe had just dozed off when her phone rang. Cake's _Short Skirt/Long Jacket_ shrilled out, and with a groan she reached over and hit the answer button. "Jenn, it's four a.m."

_"I know what time it is, weirdo,"_ the voice on the other end said. Chloe snorted slightly. _"You just finished initiation, I saw your facebook post. You should still be up and wired."_

"We're not all you," Chloe teased. "We don't all get off on torturing freshman."

_"Please, I don't get off on it. It's more like my subsistence - I'd die without it."_

"So how's your death coming along?" Chloe asked, burrowing under the covers as she rested the phone against her ear. Without Heather's after-hours access to the parkour gym, they'd had to change up from last year, and in the end after the club they'd done a run around campus with the senior members biking behind the recruits. Chloe was bone-tired.

_"Chicago is okay,"_ Jennifer replied. _"It's only been a few months, but I haven't gotten very far. I'm still doing barely one step above community theater. Well, aside from the actual community theater I'm doing. I miss the weather down there."_

"It was 103 degrees today," Chloe said in disbelief. "It broke records for September. You _can't_ miss that."

_"I was raised in Florida, of course I miss it. Are you telling me you don't miss the winters in Colorado?"_

Even though Jennifer couldn't see her, Chloe found herself shrugging sheepishly. "Okay, okay. Fair point." She yawned then, and winced when her jaw cracked. "Ow."

_"That sounded - oh god I'm gonna yaa-aaaaaaaa-wn - like a big one. I should let you go to sleep. But real quick, how're the new recruits? We do well this year?"_

Chloe struggled not to yawn again. "We did pretty good. I hope Rachel and Jerome are as good as co-captains as you and Joel were."

_"Well, Rachel at least isn't an idiot like I am. I made sure to tell her not to repeat my mistakes and use you. Jerome, despite his laziness, is a good people person, so he'll help with wrangling everyone. The two of them shouldn't fuck up too bad."_

Chloe yawned. "Shit, I'm sorry."

_"I see how it is,"_ Jennifer cracked. _"I'm just not a stimulating conversationalist, apparently."_

"No, you are!" Chloe said, waking up somewhat as she started to fret. "I'm sorry, that was really rude of me-"

_"Shut up and go to bed, weirdo. That's an order from your former captain."_ Before Chloe could respond, Jennifer hung up the phone.

Their conversations always went like that: Jennifer never said goodbye. Chloe was used to it by now, and in a way found it strangely endearing. Somehow, she just knew that Jennifer wasn't very good at saying goodbyes.

_It takes Chloe almost twenty minutes to find Jennifer in the crowd of graduates. She's already seen Joel, and even though she's mad at him too for post-regionals, he doesn't let her get away without a hug and she finds she doesn't really mind. He and Heather weren't able to work it out, but he wasn't with Meredith, either. He'd been humble, and taken the verbal (and in Jennifer's case, physical) abuse from the rest of the squad for the remainder of the year. He hadn't asked anyone to forgive him, hadn't excused himself, and that in and of itself had been the most redeeming. Still, she doesn't see adding him back to her facebook friends._

_"Weirdo!" she hears called out, and there's Jennifer. Her cap is cocked a bit, and her normal scowl is nowhere to be seen. She laughs when Chloe tackles her in a hug, pounding the taller girl on the back until she's released. "Didn't think you'd find me in this mess."_

_"I didn't either," Chloe breathes, grinning. "It's a madhouse down here."_

_"Well, let me introduce you to the 'rents." She pulls Chloe towards an older couple. "This is my mom Laura and dad Kristoff. Mom, Dad, this is Chloe. She's one of the freshman on the squad."_

_"It's very nice to meet you," Laura says, shaking Chloe's hand. Laura towers over the rest of them, and Chloe can't help but look back and forth between mother and daughter._

_Kristoff laughs. "Jennifer gets her height from me, unfortunately," he says, bumping his daughter's shoulder as she scowls at him. He stands just an inch or so taller than the small girl. "I keep telling her it's okay to be fun-sized, but she just gets mad at me."_

_"I'm not five, Dad," Jennifer grumbles. "I can't believe I didn't even grow taller than_ you. _Greg is almost Mom's height."_

_"Her brother," Laura explains. "He would have been here, but he has finals next week and a major project due."_

_"It's nice to meet you guys," Chloe says with a smile. "Your daughter is a wonderful dancer and choreographer."_

_"She's talented," Laura agrees. "Jenn, is this the girl you were talking about? The one who smiles all the time?"_

_Both girls blush at that. "Mom!" Jennifer hisses. "God."_

_Kristoff and Laura laugh. "She has nothing but good things to say about you, Chloe. She says you're very talented as well, and our Jennifer doesn't give out compliments very often."_

_"Fuck, Mom. You make me sound like a bitch."_

_"Language," Kristoff says, but his stern tone is ruined by the smile on his face. "You'd think she'd been raised by sailors. I keep telling her I was in the Air Force, she can't ruin my image like that."_

_"Fuck off, Dad."_

_He laughs. "Alright, alright. Chloe, are you going to join us for lunch? Our treat."_

_Chloe shakes her head, grinning at the happy family before her. "I don't want to intrude. Besides, Jennifer is having a thing for the dance squad tomorrow, I'll see her then."_

_"It's no problem," Kristoff insists, looking at his wife. Laura nods._

_"It's fine," Chloe assures._

_It's not fine. Chloe gets a call later that evening from her mother. Her grandmother's health is rapidly declining, and the doctors are giving her a week. She calls up her professors, who graciously extend her deadlines, and she's almost packed before she remembers the party. She sends Jennifer, Rachel, Joaqim, David and Mercedes a text apologizing for missing out, and then prowls around her room while she waits. Her flight isn't for another five hours._

_A knock on her door stops her from pacing, and when she pulls it open to see Jennifer the only thing Chloe can do is burst into tears. Next thing she knows, she's on her bed with the petite girl holding her, petting her hair and humming in her ear._

_"I'm sorry," Chloe says when she gets under control. "I j-just..."_

_"It's your grandmother, weirdo," Jennifer says. "Of course you're gonna freak. It's okay."_

_Chloe just sniffs, nodding. "I have to go soon."_

_"Wanna ride to the airport?" Jennifer offers, and when Chloe nods she stands, dragging the girl to her feet. "C'mon, then."_

_The ride to the airport is silent, and Chloe can't help but to reach over and grab Jennifer's hand. The older girl doesn't say anything, just squeezes in reassurance. Chloe's reluctant to let go when they arrive._

_They hug, and as they pull back Jennifer places a kiss on the corner of Chloe's mouth. Chloe blinks at her in surprise._

_"If I wasn't about to move to Chicago, I maybe would ask you out," Jennifer muses. "I almost hated you at one point, and now I don't know how I could've thought you were anything other than awesome. A total weirdo, but awesome."_

_"Jennifer," Chloe says hesitantly, a hand reaching up to touch the spot where the older girl kissed her. "I'm not... I mean, I don't think-"_

_"Chill, weirdo," Jennifer says with a laugh. "It doesn't matter either way. I'm not in love with you or anything. I just realized that maybe I could have been, if I hadn't been such a fucking bitch. But I am, and your personal preference is kind of a moot point now, because I'm not gonna be here when you get back."_

_Even though she's still a bit choked up from all the crying she's done, Chloe can't help but laugh a bit as she gapes. "My preference doesn't matter?" she asks incredulously. "What if I was totally gay for you?"_

_Jennifer shrugs. "I'd still be going to Chicago, and I don't believe in long distance. Especially long distance where we haven't even dated yet. So, yeah, it kind of doesn't." She blinks. "You're not gay for me, are you?"_

_Now Chloe's definitely giggling. "I guess you'll never know," she teases, but at the stricken look on the older girl's face she quickly capitulates. "I never thought about it," she says honestly. "I mean, I've never had a thing for a girl." She muses for a second. "Not against the idea, I guess. If she's hot, and nice, and likes the things I like, and likes_ me- _"_

_"And there's the rub," Jennifer says with a wistful sigh. "I just don't like you. No wonder I never got into your pants." She winks dramatically at Chloe, who's now laughing so hard she can't breathe properly. "Go away. You're gonna miss your flight."_

_Before Chloe can say anything, Jennifer's turning on her heel and walking away, cutting off the goodbye so abruptly that the redhead just stares at the other girl's retreating back._

\---

It's almost the end of the semester before Chloe decided enough is enough. They had a particularly grueling practice that day, working on a dance routine that Chloe had actually had a small amount of say in. She's glowing, and happy, and when she saw Meredith refusing to meet her eye again Chloe couldn't take it anymore.

"Meredith, wait up!" she said as everyone starts to trickle out of the gym, and the girl was so shocked that the brunette actually waited for Chloe to catch up. "Can we talk?"

Meredith was still stunned, but nodded mutely.

"Coffee?" Chloe offered, and at another nod they start towards the nearest campus coffee shack.

Ten minutes later, they're sitting outside on the lawn, hands cupped around their coffees against the December chill. "Listen," Chloe started off. "I miss you."

Meredith started at that, her eyes still not quite meeting Chloe's. "I wouldn't have guessed," she said bitterly. Her shoulders hunched over a bit more. "You haven't spoken to me all year."

"You either," Chloe pointed out. "You run away from me pretty much every chance you get."

The other girl didn't respond, just taking a drink from her cup.

"We were really good friends, weren't we?" Chloe asked quietly. "I still don't understand how you could have done what you did, but I'm not you and I'm not Joel or Heather. I'm tired of feeling like we're constantly fighting."

"I miss you too," Meredith blurted out, and when she finally looked up to meet Chloe's eyes her own were brimming with tears. "I didn't mean for any of it to happen the way it did, and I've never regretted anything more in my entire life. I was a bitch to Heather, and to Joel, and to you, and I'm so fucking sorry, Chlo'."

Chloe didn't respond, just reached out and places a soothing hand on Meredith's arm. "It's okay," she said, and smiled at the girl. "We can just start over, right?"

Meredith nodded, and wiped at her eyes. "Yeah, okay." She gave a small smile back. "I'm sorry about your grandmother last year. Rachel told me."

Chloe's smile hitched for a moment, but it's still genuine. "Thanks. She went in her sleep, and I got to say goodbye. I'm glad I made it in time." She took a sip of her coffee. "What about you? How have you been outside of the squad?"

"I'm actually seeing someone," Meredith said shyly, and her smile grew at Chloe's squeal of excitement. "We've been dating for about two months now. He's a senior."

"Tell me all about him," Chloe said breathlessly. "Is he cute? What's his major? Does he dance?"

The other girl chuckled. "Yes, History, and sort of. I mean, he's good at the club, but he's not part of a dance group or anything. He's actually a Treble."

Chloe looked confused for a moment. "A treble?"

"Treble. Treblemaker? They're one of the a cappella groups on campus."

It clicked for the redhead. "Oh! Right. I think I saw one of their concerts last year. They were pretty good, if I remember."

Meredith was beaming now. "Totally! They're the best group on campus." She leaned forward, a bit conspiratorially. "And the hottest. They're having a thing tonight, some sort of contest with the other groups on campus. You wanna come?"

"Sure!"

\---

Chloe stumbled her way home, drunkenly gazing at her phone as she perused her facebook feed.

_Hey weirdo, wassup?_ the messenger chimed, and she grinned when she saw Jennifer's profile pic. Instead of responding, she thumbed over the profile and hit dial.

_"I didn't expect a phone call, Chloe,"_ Jennifer's voice is amused. _"What are you doing up at this hour?"_

"Just coming home from the Riff-Off," Chloe said, slurring only a little. She made her way into Baker Hall. "Hanging out with Meredith."

_"You finally forgive her?"_

"Me? What about you?"

_"I'm not the one who hasn't spoken to her all semester. Fuck, Meredith and I talked like two weeks ago,"_ Jennifer said with a laugh.

Chloe dropped her keys, partly in shock and partly due to a complete loss of dexterity. "I didn't know that!" she exclaimed, bending down to pick them up.

_"I don't tell you everything,"_ Jennifer teased. _"Hoes before bros, or whatever. Of course I was gonna talk to her again. Besides, I knew you two would figure it out without me interfering."_

"Well we did," Chloe said proudly, finally standing and getting her keys into the door. "She's dating this new guy, Roger or Richard or something."

_"The a cappella dude, right. That's what the Riff-Off was, right? One of their events?"_

Chloe nodded happily, even though Jennifer couldn't see it. She shut the door to her dorm behind her and collapsed onto her bed. "Right!" she said cheerfully. "It was a ton of fun. I haven't sung since choir in high school, but it totally made me want to jump in."

_"You can sing? You any good?"_

Chloe shrugged. "Fairly. My choir teacher was always begging me to skip dance so I could join one of the after school singing groups."

_"So you don't make ears bleed. Gotcha."_

"So mean!" Chloe exclaimed, giggling when Jennifer snorted in amusement. "I do miss singing, though. One of the girls from one of the other groups even asked me if I was going to go to spring auditions this year when I was singing during the after party."

_"A cappella is a total time commitment, Chloe. I don't think you'd be able to do the dance squad and sing. And since you were a member of_ my _squad, I'm going to be totally selfish and obnoxious and say you better not think of swapping teams, weirdo. Don't make me hunt you down and kill you."_

Chloe laughed, still feeling a bit drunk. "Aye aye, captain. Dance squad for this girl." She started giggling again. "Oh, but I met this guy, Basil. He's one of the members of the Treblemakers."

_"Chloe Beale, you slut. Did you sleep with him?"_ Jennifer's voice is nothing but amused.

"Maaaaaaaybe."

_"What is that, the fourth guy this semester?"_

"Don't forget Alicia," Chloe said with a grin. Chilled, she kicked off her shoes and wormed underneath the covers, still dressed. "She was hot. Fun while it lasted."

_"You mean until you broke her heart."_ Jennifer gave a dramatic sigh over the phone. _"Slut and a heartbreaker."_

"Come on, Jennifer, college is supposed to be fun!" Chloe whined. "Stop judging."

_"That's like asking someone to stop breathing, weirdo. We all judge. Don't worry, though, I'm not judging you badly or anything. Fuck, who am I to talk? I was a total hoebag my entire first three years. I didn't stop until I became captain, and then it was because I didn't have the time."_ Jennifer gave a chuckle. _"You gonna see him again?"_

"He asked me to a movie as I was crawling out of his bed." Chloe wriggled to get comfortable. "He was totally chill about it, though, so I said yes. We'll see. It'll be fun for a bit, anyway."

_"Just be smart. As in, make sure he's tested and shit if you plan on going bareback or anything."_

"Yes mom," Chloe said with a yawn.

_"Bitch."_ Click.

Chloe laughed, knowing Jennifer was doing the same in Chicago, and quickly fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, guys. This story keeps getting put on the backburner, but I'm definitely still moving on with it. Thanks for your patience!


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